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Auto alternatives for the 21st centuryFri, 31 Jul 2015 13:14:21 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.2.2Renault-Nissan And Daimler Inching Closer Togetherhttp://www.hybridcars.com/renault-nissan-and-daimler-inching-closer-together/
http://www.hybridcars.com/renault-nissan-and-daimler-inching-closer-together/#commentsMon, 06 Oct 2014 04:00:05 +0000http://www.hybridcars.com/?p=201570Executives look pleased with the result of the collaboration between Renault-Nissan and Daimler. Or at least they say they are. Both automotive powerhouses have been working in partnership since 2010. The scope of the original collaboration in 2010 was limited to three projects primarily in Europe. The combined portfolio shared between Renault-Nissan and Daimler has […]

]]>Executives look pleased with the result of the collaboration between Renault-Nissan and Daimler. Or at least they say they are.

Both automotive powerhouses have been working in partnership since 2010. The scope of the original collaboration in 2010 was limited to three projects primarily in Europe.

The combined portfolio shared between Renault-Nissan and Daimler has since quadrupled to 12 projects in Europe, Asia and North America.

“The global scale of our projects ensures that this collaboration will continue to grow, and we expect to remain partners for the long run,” said Renault-Nissan CEO and Chairman Carlos Ghosn. “This partnership has accelerated the time-to-market for significant vehicle launches and has been an obvious strategic advantage for Renault and Nissan. We remain confident about our relationship for the foreseeable future.”

The CEOs’ comments come as the Renault-Nissan Alliance and Daimler get ready to launch their first vehicles co-developed from scratch this autumn: the new Renault Twingo and the new smart fortwo and smart forfour.

“Since its start in 2010, this cooperation has delivered what it has promised, and even more. And that’s how we will continue to work together in the future – with joint projects that establish a win-win situation for all partners involved and create value for our customers worldwide. This is definitely a track record to be continued,” said Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars.

The Renault Twingo went on sale in Europe in September while the smart fortwo and smart forfour will go on sale in November. These city cars are built on a jointly developed rear-wheel-drive architecture; Daimler said this project involved teams from both sides working closely together these last four years.

The three cars, which are all on display at the Paris Motor Show, are independent products with an unmistakable unique brand identity, added Renault.

The smart fortwo is being built at smart’s Hambach plant in France, while the Twingo and the smart forfour are being produced at Renault’s plant in Novo Mesto, Slovenia.

Update on other joint projects

In June 2014, Nissan and Daimler announced plans to jointly develop premium compact vehicles and to jointly manufacture them in Mexico.

Construction of a jointly owned facility in Aguascalientes, in the immediate vicinity of an already existing Nissan plant, will begin in early 2015. Nissan stated production will begin in 2017 with Infiniti models. Daimler added the production of Mercedes-Benz vehicles will follow in 2018. When fully ramped up, the Mexico facility will have production capacity of 300,000 units per year.

The premium compact vehicles are expected to also be produced at other Daimler and Nissan plants around the world, including Europe and China.

Meanwhile, the two companies continue to supply each other with powertrains.

In September, Renault began supplying 1.6 liter diesel engines for both the new Mercedes C-Class and the Mercedes Vito van. Renault is also supplying a 1 liter, 3-cylinder naturally aspirated gasoline engine and a 900cc turbocharged, 3-cylinder gasoline unit for the smart forfour and smart fortwo.

In June, joint production of a 2 liter, turbocharged 4-cylinder gasoline engine began at a newly established Nissan and Daimler powertrain facility in Decherd, Tennessee, USA. The engines produced by the Infiniti Decherd Powertrain Plant will initially be used in European versions of the Infiniti Q50 sports sedan and the Mercedes-Benz C-Class. The new facility will have installed capacity of 250,000 units per year, once fully ramped-up.

These companies are also collaborating in the van segment. Daimler’s Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC) and Nissan Motor Co. Ltd., have just signed a contract for the supply of finished commercial vans for export. Under the contract, Nissan will supply its “NV350 Urvan” (GVW: 3.5 tons) commercial van to Mitsubishi Fuso which will sell it as ‘Canter Van’ in the Middle East towards the end of 2014.

]]>http://www.hybridcars.com/renault-nissan-and-daimler-inching-closer-together/feed/0Shared Infiniti-Mercedes Turbo Engine Built In Tennesseehttp://www.hybridcars.com/shared-infiniti-mercedes-turbo-engine-built-in-tennessee/
http://www.hybridcars.com/shared-infiniti-mercedes-turbo-engine-built-in-tennessee/#commentsThu, 12 Jun 2014 04:00:37 +0000http://www.hybridcars.com/?p=157457June 26, 2014, will mark the official start of production for the new Decherd Powertrain Plant, a partnership between the Renault-Nissan Alliance and Daimler AG. Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam, Infiniti Motor Company President Johan de Nysschen and Gary Edwards, vice president, Powertrain Operations and Battery Plant, are expected to preside over the Opening Celebration activities. […]

]]>June 26, 2014, will mark the official start of production for the new Decherd Powertrain Plant, a partnership between the Renault-Nissan Alliance and Daimler AG.

Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam, Infiniti Motor Company President Johan de Nysschen and Gary Edwards, vice president, Powertrain Operations and Battery Plant, are expected to preside over the Opening Celebration activities.

Infiniti said the first engine assembled at the all-new facility will be a 2.0-liter turbocharged gasoline 4-cylinder.

The engines will initially be used in European versions of the Infiniti Q50 sports sedan and in the Mercedes-Benz C-Class assembled in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Once production has ramped up, full annual capacity will be of 250,000 engines.

“The opening of this new powertrain facility is an important step for Infiniti. It is the first step of our manufacturing expansion that will include the start of vehicle production in China later this year and in Europe next year,” said de Nysschen.

Construction of the ground-up $319 million, 310,000-square foot facility began in May 2012. Infiniti added it incorporates a number of energy efficient design features, such as a heat-reflecting white roof and natural daytime lighting through use of a skylight grid.

“In this new state-of-the-art facility we are building on 17 years of powertrain experience here in Decherd – taking the best quality standards from Japan and Germany and combining those with our highly skilled U.S. workforce,” added Edwards. “Our team can’t wait to get started.”

]]>http://www.hybridcars.com/shared-infiniti-mercedes-turbo-engine-built-in-tennessee/feed/0Q50 Rated Five Stars By EuroNCAPhttp://www.hybridcars.com/q50-rated-five-stars-by-euroncap/
http://www.hybridcars.com/q50-rated-five-stars-by-euroncap/#commentsFri, 29 Nov 2013 05:44:15 +0000http://www.hybridcars.com/?p=97945Infiniti’s all-new Q50 sports sedan, to be available in hybrid version, has been awarded the maximum safety rating from independent crash test consortium EuroNCAP. This result was confirmed November 28 on the eve of the car’s pan-European launch. Infiniti said the Q50 earned its five-star ranking with scores of 86 percent for driver/passenger protection and […]

]]>Infiniti’s all-new Q50 sports sedan, to be available in hybrid version, has been awarded the maximum safety rating from independent crash test consortium EuroNCAP.

This result was confirmed November 28 on the eve of the car’s pan-European launch.

Infiniti said the Q50 earned its five-star ranking with scores of 86 percent for driver/passenger protection and 85 percent for child protection. The Q50 2.2d Premium model tested also fared well in the Safety Assist category, while EuroNCAP found the standard ‘active’ hood effective in helping safeguard pedestrians.

“Every Infiniti is designed from the start to offer the maximum protection to driver, passengers and other road users in every situation,” said Infiniti Europe Vice President Fintan Knight.

In 2009 the Infiniti FX became the first-ever Infiniti to be subjected to EuroNCAP’s testing regime, scoring the maximum five stars.

“While the five-star ranking in the crash test is testament to the Q50’s design and construction, Infiniti believes avoiding an accident in the first place is even more important,” added Fintan Knight. “Today’s drivers need all the help they can get to stay relaxed, comfortable and safe behind the wheel which is why the Q50 is additionally available with many innovative new safety systems.”

Infiniti said the Q50 line-up includes, depending on the model, several world-first technologies including Direct Adaptive Steering (DAS), an electronic by-wire system that eliminates vibration and ‘tug’ at the steering wheel in adverse conditions, such as over unmade roads. Also available is Active Lane Control reducing the need for continuous steering corrections and helping reduce tiredness on long motorway journeys.

Other advanced systems available offer, per Infiniti, a helping hand in various situations. Infiniti listed them as follow:

Reversing (Back-up Collision Intervention). Detects moving vehicles and objects behind the car when reverse gear is selected, warning the driver with visual and audible alerts. If necessary the system can autonomously engage the brakes to avoid a collision.

Drifting out of lane (Lane Departure Warning and Lane Departure Prevention). Industry-first system senses unintended lane drift and assists the driver in guiding the vehicle back to the centre of its lane.

Moving into the path of another vehicle (Blind Spot Intervention and Blind Spot Warning). World-first technology aids the driver in avoiding vehicles concealed in the blind-spot area during lane-change manoeuvres.

Motorway hold-ups (Predictive Forward Collision Warning). Another world-first for Infiniti, PFCW warns the driver of hazards which lie beyond the driver’s field of view – seeing past not just the car in front but two cars ahead.

Rapid deceleration (Forward Emergency Braking). If sudden braking is required to avoid a collision, the system will first warn the driver and then autonomously push back on the accelerator and apply partial braking to assist the driver in slowing down.

Low-speed manoeuvring in busy areas (Around View Monitor with Moving Object Detection). Infiniti’s world-first real-time camera system provides a virtual 360 degree view of the environment around the car, with visual and audible warnings of hazards.

]]>http://www.hybridcars.com/q50-rated-five-stars-by-euroncap/feed/0Q50 To Find 2.0-Liter Turbo Under Hoodhttp://www.hybridcars.com/q50-to-find-2-0-liter-turbo-under-hood/
http://www.hybridcars.com/q50-to-find-2-0-liter-turbo-under-hood/#commentsFri, 22 Nov 2013 15:07:51 +0000http://www.hybridcars.com/?p=95929Infiniti announced it will add a turbocharged 2.0-liter gasoline engine in the Q50 premium sports sedan. Infiniti held the engine’s world premiere at the Guangzhou Motor Show November 21. The new four-cylinder turbo gasoline engine will extend the Q50 powertrain options which currently include, depending on market availability, a 3.7-liter gasoline, a 3.5-liter hybrid and […]

]]>Infiniti announced it will add a turbocharged 2.0-liter gasoline engine in the Q50 premium sports sedan.

Infiniti held the engine’s world premiere at the Guangzhou Motor Show November 21.

The new four-cylinder turbo gasoline engine will extend the Q50 powertrain options which currently include, depending on market availability, a 3.7-liter gasoline, a 3.5-liter hybrid and a 2.2-liter, four cylinder turbo-diesel to be launched in Europe this autumn.

Infiniti said the new gasoline engine will first be available to Chinese customers during spring 2014 before being made available in other markets.

The new four-cylinder turbo-charged engine uses direct injection with Piezo injectors to provide a power output of 211 horsepower while meeting the rigorous Euro 5 emission standards, per Infiniti. The engine also generates 236 pound-feet of torque from 1250 rpm for flexible and efficient driving.

Infiniti explained the new engine is the result of the company’s collaboration agreement with Daimler AG. As with the 2.2-liter direct-injection four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine destined for Europe, the gasoline version has been modified by Infiniti engineering teams to ensure engine response is in line with Infiniti’s brand characteristics.

The addition of the new turbo-charged engine further underlines Infiniti’s strategy, said the company, to expand its product offerings overall as well as tailoring its model range to local customer requirements.

During the next five years, Infiniti said it will increase its vehicle portfolio by 60 percent and more than double the number of its powertrains.

Infiniti added the world premiere of the new powertrain in Guangzhou also underlines Infiniti’s commitment to China, the world’s fastest growing premium automotive market.

A long wheelbase version of both the Q50 and the QX50 crossover, specifically designed for Chinese customers, will be built at the Xiangyang plant in the Hubei Province; production is earmarked to begin in 2014.Infiniti has not yet released official fuel consumption ratings for the Q50 equipped with the new 2.0-liter engine.